The image received heavy criticism from fans and comic book enthusiasts.

"The (physically impossible?) pose – bottom up – is familiar to anyone who has read erotic comic books," wrote Time magazine. "I get it: superheroes wear spandex and a lot of excitable teenage boys read these comic books. But this cover takes the sex-factor to a new extreme… A male hero would never be placed in the same physical position."

Here's what fans tweeted about the cover:

But I don't think any little girl will see this cover and think they've found their role model. @Marvel#SpiderWoman

Writing on Tumblr, Tom Brevoort, the senior vice president of publishing for Marvel Comics, responded to a fan question about the uproar.

Brevoort said that "the people who are upset about that cover have a point, at least in how the image relates to them".

However, he added that Manara has been "working as a cartoonist since 1969, and what he does hasn't materially changed in all that time. So when we say 'Manara cover', his body of work indicates what sort of thing he's going to do."